Brown mite—Bryobia rubrioculus
Adult brown mites are flattened and dark reddish brown, and the first pair of legs is longer than the
other three pairs. Newly hatched mites are red with six legs; after the first molt they are brown with
eight legs, resembling the adult.
Life cycle
Damage
Feeding by brown mites causes whitish gray spots to appear on leaves. No webbing is produced, and leaf
drop rarely occurs. Affected leaves first become mottled, then bleached. Badly damaged foliage is smaller
than normal and covered with minute flecks of dried feces.
Solutions
Numerous predators feed on red mites. In-season sprays for
brown mites are not usually necessary or advisable in the
home orchard. A supreme or superior-type oil
spray during
the delayed dormant period just as eggs are about to hatch
should keep mites below damaging levels, if predators are
not disrupted by sprays for other pests. | 
Adult
brown mite
Spots
on leaf surface caused by brown mites
|
